I Wore the Skims Face Wrap for a Weekend. Here’s What Happened

I love to feel contained. Lace-up corsets, lymphatic drainage onesies—I take comfort in being swaddled. So when Skims released the Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap—a compression garment that wraps the cheeks, chin, and throat in a contouring embrace—I knew it was something I needed. Immediately.

Styled after the wrap worn post–face lift, the website calls it the brand’s “first-ever face innovation,” made from the brand’s “signature sculpting fabric” and featuring “collagen yarns for ultrasoft jaw support.”

The internet was quick to attack—but also snap up—the Sculpt Face Wrap. Even Anthony Hopkins got in on the fun online, playing up the wrap’s resemblance to the muzzle he wore as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. It all happened so quickly, in fact, that I couldn’t buy one myself and had to resort instead to sending desperate emails to the PR team and texts to the brand’s founders (yes, that’s Kim Kardashian and Emma Grede). Eventually, straight from Kim’s personal stash to my house in Austin, one came via UPS overnight.

Once it was unboxed—the wrap came in Skims’s classically minimal packaging, of course—I faced my first trial: How to put it on? Besides identifying the two slits as earholes, I was at a bit of a loss. Poised over my dining-room table, my fiancé and I began to piece the thing together like we were in Good Will Hunting. Yes, the wrap should secure at the base of the throat…but if it does there isn’t enough material to get around my head. Figuring out what to do with my cheeks—do I secure them under the fabric, for more of a lymphatic squish, or over them, which is far more comfortable?—was a situation all on its own. Twenty minutes later, I was finally strapped in. Could Makeup by Mario–level contoured cheekbones be next?

Lymphatic specialist Flavia Lanini, who counts Kardashian as one of her many starry clients, explains that the wrap’s design is based on the facial compression garments used in medical settings. “Those are designed to apply gentle, even pressure across the face to help reduce postsurgical swelling and support healing after procedures like facelifts, buccal-fat removal, or chin liposuction,” Lanini says. “Wearing this type of mask can support the lymphatic system, especially if used with intention.”

So, to reap its full benefits, I tried the wrap out after my skin-care routine, wearing it through a variety of chores that get the lymphatic system going: walking the dog, watering the plants, and reading a book. The first thing I noticed was that my face flushed more quickly than normal, going a deep red all over. The second thing I noticed? Wearing it for an hour resulted in an oh-so-subtle slimming effect in the bottom half of my face, akin to the removal of a tiny amount of my ample buccal fat.

“Like a corset or compression stocking, the wrap may offer a very temporary cosmetic effect—if any,” says cosmetic dermatologist Kseniya Kobets, MD. During a wander down Austin s busy South Congress—fully wrapped, of course—I waited for somebody, anybody to say something about how I looked. Yes, I was met with a few stares, but mostly silence. Not even a “Are you wearing the—” “Skims Face Wrap? Yes, I am” came my way. Guess those Texas manners were on full blast.

Yet dermatologist Dev Patel, MD, has warned that wearing “tight, non-breathable fabrics” can be harmful to the skin, trapping “sweat, oil, and bacteria.” “This increases the risk of breakouts, clogged pores, and irritation, particularly for acne-prone or sensitive-skin types,” Dr. Patel adds.

So what’s the final word from experts?

“For general use, I don’t recommend relying on the garment without a full understanding of what the body needs,” says Lanini. “Supporting the lymphatic system requires a broader approach—hydration, movement, breathing, and manual techniques.” Apparently no wrapping required.

Have a beauty or wellness trend you’re curious about? We want to know! Send Vogue’s senior beauty and wellness editor an email at beauty@vogue.com.